摘要：Americans spend the majority of their food dollars at restaurants and other prepared food sources, including quick-service and fast-food restaurants (PFS); independent small restaurants make up 66% of all PFS in the US. In this feasibility study, 5 independent and Latino-owned PFS in the Washington DC metro area worked with academic partners to start offering healthy combo meals with bottled water and promote these using on-site, community, and social media advertising. The number of healthy combos sold was collected weekly, showing that the new combos sold, and customers in all 5 sites were surveyed as they exited the PFS (n=50): >85% had noticed the combo meals; 100% thought it was a good idea to offer it, 68% had ordered the combo (of these, >94% of customers responded that they liked it). Results suggest that it is feasible to work with independent Latino-owned restaurants to promote healthy combos and collect data.
Significance for public health
Consuming foods away from home once a week or more has been associated with risk for obesity, and targeting independent, ethnic restaurants (full service and fast casual) with health interventions can attract segments of populations that are more vulnerable to health disparities and are typically hard to reach. There is need to determine potential dietary health impacts on consumers, the potential for profitability at the restaurant level, and if these types of restaurant interventions can be a sustainable, all of which would likely improve community health. This report adds that it is feasible, based on operability, acceptability, and perceived sustainability, to work with independent-owned restaurants to promote healthier food and beverage alternatives.
